According to the presented estimates, in 2025 Moldova imported about 12.2 thousand cars from China in the amount of $108 mln. Almost comparable volume came to Germany – $105 mln or 17.4% of the market. Japan ($72 mln and 11.9% of the market), Czech Republic ($54 mln and 9%) and USA ($51 mln and 8.5%) follow in the ranking of supplying countries.
Apart from these countries, cars were also supplied to Moldova from France, South Korea, Slovakia, Great Britain, Sweden, Romania and Austria, but their shares are much lower.
The import market grew to $1 bln
Ionita notes that Moldova’s automobile market is undergoing one of the fastest transformations. The total value of vehicle and component imports has grown from $384 million in 2020 to $1.069 billion in 2025. Of this amount, $946 million is directly attributable to vehicles.
At the same time, a long-term trend is evident: the automobile has become more affordable for the population. Thus, in 2001-2005, the average cost of an imported car amounted to $11.7 thousand, and a Moldovan resident needed about 16.5 years of income to buy it. In 2021-2025, the average price increased to $18.3 thousand, but the necessary time to buy it decreased to about two years.
“In 20 years, the affordability of cars has increased 10 times, they have become a commodity that more and more citizens can afford,” Ionitsa said.
The expert attributes the changes to the growth of used car imports, the expansion of the geography of supply and changes in the structure of demand within the country. At the same time, he notes a significant gap between the volume of imports and the actual registration of cars, which, according to him, requires a separate analysis.
Structure of imports in 2025:
passenger cars – 67.3%
spare parts – 10.2%
tractors – 8.5%
trucks – 7.9%
special equipment – 3.6%
buses – 2.5%
other – 0.1%
